One woman, decades of different eyebrows.

It’s not long now before the 30-year reign of Emperor Akihito will come to an end, with the 30 April abdication date officially closing the door on Japan’s Heisei Era.

This important event in history has everyone nostalgically looking back at the era that was, and for Japanese makeup brand Anastasia, that means taking a special walk down memory lane with an homage to “mayuge”, or brows.

The makeup brand has produced a special video with one woman taking us on a journey through decades of different brow trends. From the big brows of the ’80s through to today’s more natural look, these Heisei brows will never be forgotten, thanks to the clip they’ve created.

Take a look at the video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGGy-IcKU8U

So what exactly were the brow beauty trends of the Heisei Era? Starting from the beginning of the era, back in 1989, we had the big-is-beautiful mindset, with thick, bushy brows appearing alongside loud, bold fashion choices popular during Japan’s bubble era.

Things then took a 180-degree turn in the ’90s, when thin, heavily plucked eyebrows became popular. Eyebrow pencils were used to draw brows over thin wasps of hair, with high, curved arches completing the look.

At the turn of the century, hard pencil lines were replaced with softer, more natural shapes. While the arches were still well-defined, the emphasis was on making the brows look naturally neat, with soft pencil lines and brush strokes used to fill gaps in the hairline.

In the early half of 2010, it was all about “lovable parallel brows”, which favoured straight lines as opposed to natural arches. The thicker brows, attained by using lots of eyebrow powder, called for heavier eye makeup as well, with lash extensions or false lashes commonly used, along with several coats of mascara.

Which brings us to the current era, the late 2010s, where natural “fluffy” brows are currently trending. Now, brow powders match the natural brow colour, with fine brush strokes allowing some natural skin to poke through the hairline.

So there you have it, a whirlwind trip through decades of eyebrows to say sayonara to brow trends from the Heisei era. What will the next era bring to the world of brows?

Images: PR Times
[ Read in Japanese ]

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[ Read in Japanese ]